Name: Shahi Chicken Korma
Ingredients: 1 Chicken deboned and cut into pieces; 3 Onion (Pyaj) chopped; 1 tsp Turmeric (Haldi); 1 tsp Coriander Seeds Powder (Dhania Powder); 1 tsp Red Chilly Powder (Lal Mirch); 1 " long piece Ginger (Adrak) chopped; 8 Garlic (Lasun) minced; 1 cup Curd (Dahi) fresh and thick; 1/2 tsp Garam Masala; 3 tblsp Clarified Butter (Ghee); 5 Almonds (Badam) chopped; 10 Cashewnut (Kaju) chopped; Lemon juice to taste; Coriander Leaves (Dhania Patta)

Why it works: Turmeric and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,776 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Turmeric + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,776 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Coriander + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,505 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Turmeric + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,253 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Coriander + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,474 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken: Provides the main protein, which becomes tender as it cooks covered in liquid.
Curd: Its acidity tenderizes the chicken and its thickness helps form the sauce.
Onions: Browning them builds sweetness and depth as the base of the gravy.
Ghee: Adds richness and carries the spices' aroma through the dish.
Cashewnuts: Ground or chopped nuts add body and a creamy texture to the sauce.
Almonds: Chopped almonds add body, mild sweetness and a nutty crunch to the finish.

The step that matters

Frying the onions, ginger and garlic until light brown. Onions that are pale or burnt give a flat or bitter gravy. Slow browning develops sweetness and depth, so the sauce tastes rich rather than raw.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, turmeric, coriander, ginger, garlic, butter, ghee):

Potatofits about as well
Tomatofits about as well
Onionthe original
Capsicumfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, turmeric, coriander, ginger, garlic, butter, ghee. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Coriander	not in our table	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Ghee	not in our table	0

Shahi Chicken Korma